Be careful that you don’t fall!
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Expressing gratitude with words and facial expressions is an important manners in daily life. But what’s more important than that is to show the practice of gratitude in life. There are many where some say thank you habitual with their mouth, but they can’t really show the thankful appearances of actualities. King Saul did that after defeating Amalek troops, he violated Jehovah’s orders and fetched cows and sheep to use as sacrifices. An expression of gratitude that has no practice is rather falsehood like an act of deception resulting from arrogance. That’s a thanks without contents, so in truth it’s a deed deceiving others. But if somebody had received the grace of faith, the person would try to live with sincere gratitude would be.
It is a good thing for an employee of a company or government office to greet by saying “Thank you” or “I love you, customer.” However, there will not be many cases of greeting with sincerity in those words. The Bible says to thank on everything, but it doesn’t mean that all can be solved just by spoken gratitude. But if someone says thank you with sincerity, the person would be able definitely to have a lively life. This is because the inner mind of gratitude can’t be hidden on the outside and it will be energize in living.
Saul, the first king of the kingdom Israel, had shown not only a good appearance but also a humble nature at first. But not long after being appointed king, he made a fatal mistake. When Samuel was delayed to come for sacrifice, he took over the role of the priest instead of Samuel for himself. As the result of that fault, the throne was unable to continue to his future generations. He hadn’t realized to the fact that the king have to be a proxy for governing the country according to the Lord’s will. There’s nothing more humans shouldn’t do than ignore to obey God. In other words, people’s obedience to God’s words is the most complete way to be blessed. Remember that the pride and disobedience which had shown often by the Israelite are general appearances of everyone of us.
The people of Israel were more blessed with God’s guidance and guard than any other nations on Earth. At the time of Exodus, they avoided death by a water wall formed in the middle of the sea, and in the wilderness, they avoided the hot heat under shading by the cloud pillars. When they cried out for lack of food, God gave them manna and quail, and when they suffered from lack of water, He made spring from the rock and made them drink it. Nevertheless, they disobeyed the leader Moses and God with idol worship, obscene act, and complaint. Such a distrustful attitude is not only in Israel but also in all of us. In looking at Israel’s past, we might say, “Ah, they had lived in disobedience without faith like that?” But we are not qualified to say that. In the verse 11 of the text here, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come,” said Paul the apostle. Paul also said, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
Every difficulty can be a condition of gratitude for oneself. If you are now in a difficult situation than as usual, it could be a condition to be more grateful. Students who study harder or exercise more than others have no choice but to reduce their free time to play. But in return for their efforts, they can get good grades and awards. For they will be more recognized for their physical strength and acquisition of new skills and knowledge that others cannot follow. Yang Hak-sun, an athlete of the gymnastics vault, developed a high-level technique called <YANG 1> and gained a high points and reputation that others could not follow. If you don’t have thanks inside your life, you couldn’t develop or vitalize your life. It’s natural to appreciate good things, but if you do appreciate even bad things, you will surely be blessed.
On this Day of Thanksgiving, please look back on your life of this year’s past. There have been many cases of complaints and demonstrations due to physical pain caused by COVID-19, restrictions on economic activities, and poor life, and restrictions on gatherings and activities, and etc. However, whether you live or die, your life belongs to Christ, so you must live with gratitude in faith. Jesus Christ has saved our life, so whether we live or die, God will make us succeed as the Lord pleases. If we obey with our gratitude instead of conceit, we will be blessed with plenty of blessings without falling.
(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Nov 21st 2021)